Achan, Achar

A member of the tribe of Judah who kept some of the loot from the Israelite victory at Jericho, disobeying Joshua’s orders and God’s commands (Joshua 6:1–7:1).

Later, Israel was defeated at Ai, a weaker city than Jericho. This defeat showed Joshua that God was angry. With God’s help, Joshua discovered which Israelite had disobeyed. Achan confessed that he had buried a robe and some gold and silver from Jericho in his tent (Joshua 7:20–22). The stolen loot was found and taken to the valley of Achor (meaning “trouble”), where Achan and his family were killed.

In the Hebrew text, 1 Chronicles 2:7 gives Achan’s name as Achar (meaning “disaster”) because he “brought trouble upon Israel by violating the ban on devoted things.”